The Justice Cabal Recruitment Drive
by purdledooturt
Summary: Owain and Morgan are looking for more members.
1. The Justice Cabal Recruitment Drive

**The Justice Cabal Recruitment Drive** **  
**by purdledooturt

* * *

 _This story was originally posted for Fanfic Friday over at my little blog. A oneshot._

* * *

Severa observed Owain and Morgan with a disgusted air that dripped out of her pores as they play fought, loudly declaring their moves as they attacked one another. Part of her was partly jealous of the friendship, but she wanted something a _lot_ more dignified than what they had.

Noting their spectator, the two wrapped up their battle with flowery announcements that it was time to end and that, yes, next time, they will return stronger. With twin nods, Owain approached Morgan and threw an arm over his shoulder, leading the younger male along and showering him with compliments as they made their way to where Severa stood, her arms crossed in defiance and her face glued into an expression of full distaste.

It didn't come unnoticed by Owain, and briefly, he wondered if Morgan felt slight embarrassment wash over him too, but he didn't dwell. He grinned widely – they've discussed this among themselves, and with Severa in the area it seemed like a good opportunity to start the recruitment drive.

"Ah," the royal began as he straightened himself up and stood tall, looking down at the girl who looked unfazed. "Severa, just the lady we wanted to clap eyes on."

She made a distinct noise of acknowledgement and her lips twisted into a pucker. "What?"

"We're wondering if you'd like to join us!" Morgan finished for Owain, who nodded in affirmation. "The Justice Cabal is considering extending invitations to other people who can serve as back-up warriors and we think you will be a great addition!"

"Back-up?" repeated the lone female as she jerked her head back slightly, her eyes now having shifted to piercing through Morgan. It bothered her to no end that neither of them seemed intimidated. "I'm being offered a position as _back-up_?"

"You're a good fighter," Owain cut in, "make no mistake, but… the Justice Cabal's main crew consists only of three or four very capable and most honourable warriors at a time."

"Who else is in this – Wait, you know what? I. Don't. Care. I'm not a child. I'm an _adult._ And I don't know if you know what _adults_ do," she pulled forward to glare at Morgan as she put harsh emphasis on some of her words, "but I'll give you a bit of a hint, hmm? It's not joining some stupid " _justice crew_ " or whatever."

With a string of curses emerging from her lips, she turned on her heel and flicked her long hair back. She waved them off as began to walk off. The two males watched as she sashayed away, barely sparing them another glance. "We're in the middle of a war, boys – _grow up!_ "

Morgan slumped when she was out of sight and heaved a sigh. "I think I stuffed that up."

Owain clamped on Morgan's shoulder and began to lead the tactician back into the camp from the opposite side. "It's okay, my ally-versary; I'm sure we'll find someone."

"Maybe if we could get Cynthia to talk to her…"

"No, no," Owain said, shaking his head to further his point. "Severa… It's unfortunate, but I'm afraid Severa doesn't want to side with the just."

The dark haired tactician shook his head as well, in agreeance with his ally. "You know I got that vibe from her, too. Maybe we can find other people."

* * *

"Morgan."

Lucina, Morgan's older sister, stood from the opening of their mother's tent, watching as her little brother walked around aimlessly with Owain. At the sight of her cousin she nodded in acknowledgement, and he waved back in response. "Have you eaten?" she asked, stepping out of the tent and letting the flap fall shut. "I didn't see either of you during lunch."

"We were busy," her younger brother replied, and Lucina raised an eyebrow in response.

It always amazed Morgan just how regal his older sister really was; occasionally he would forget that she was actually the crown princess of Ylisse, and he the prince. She was a very capable fighter, and shatters most of the stereotypes attached to princesses and other ladies of royalty.

A capable fighter…

"Wait," he said, mostly to himself as his thoughts began to travel at fast speeds. With the one word he made his brain quieten, and grasped at the words that nearly escaped him. His memory was spotty – it affects even the present. "Do _you_ want to join the Justice Cabal?"

"The Justice…" Lucina looked stunned at the question, and paused until her face shifted into realisation. "Oh! That little superhero group you made?"

"Yes," Owain said proudly, moving from cousin to cousin. He threw his arm around Lucina's shoulders and she raised her eyebrow at him in response but made no indication to slip out. "It fills my heart with happiness and glad energy to know that our humble little assembly is now known amongst the army like it was drifted along by the very wind."

She chuckled at his description. "Cynthia told me."

"My point stands," insisted Owain, shaking her shoulder.

"And so does our invitation," Morgan reminded. He looked up at his sister and mustered the most pitiful look he could – they'd tried to recruit a few more of the other children and were declined by most, he just felt desperate to recruit _someone_.

The crown princess said nothing as she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Sadness tugged at Morgan's heart as he steeled himself for the answer her knew was coming.

"I'll think about it."

 _Wait._

"Is that a maybe?" Owain asked, as if he'd read Morgan's mind.

The young tactician watched his sister's expression with hawk-like eyes. She was cool, and collected as always, when she confirmed, "Yes, that's a maybe."

"Well, a 'maybe' is just a late 'no'," Morgan said, dejected and deflated and trying to rush his sister into an answer. He was never really the most patient.

"A 'maybe' can also be a late 'yes'," said their mother as she slipped out of the tent with a bright smile at her child. "Don't be so disheartened; I'm sure your sister will make the right decision."

"Thank you, milady," Lucina replied, before her mother gave her a light glare. "Sorry – mother," she corrected with a warm smile and apologetic eyes.

"You boys should eat," said Robin as she began to carry her scrolls over to the main tent where Chrom waited. "I've left some food for you; it's with Olivia."

Owain waved at his aunt as she walked off, returning his wave with a nod of her head. Considering her hands were occupied, the swordsman accepted her response.

"Don't you want to join us, mother?" asked Morgan, as he chased after his mother and helped her carry her things over to the tent a few meters off. In the distance they could hear the younger tactician trying to sell the idea to the grandmaster, who seemed to be entertaining her son and asking about the benefits of joining.

For the moment Owain entertained the idea of having the camp Grandmaster on their team and how that would benefit the Justice Cabal's publicity, but his daydreams were interrupted by Lucina. She cleared her throat and gained his attention.

"Thank you for what you're doing with Morgan."

He looked at the leader – the true leader of their band of lost children – and nodded back, although he didn't know what exactly she was thanking him for.

"I know everyone is being so sullen – not counting Henry, of course –"

"Or Vaike," supplied the male, and the princess nodded in agreeance.

"Or Vaike, but… I'd like to thank you for keeping his spirits up at this time." Owain never noticed it but Lucina sounded so gentle for a fearsome time travelling hero. He noted the differences between himself and his cousin. "Before he joined you he… I'd spot him just sitting on his own just looking so bothered." She shrugged as she watched her mother and brother disappear through tent flaps. "I've caught him trying to hit his head to get the memories back, and… As a sister it's a sad sight to see, that's all.

"The Justice Cabal has really given him _something_ , you know? He's making new memories and he's hopefully getting less and less stressed about the old ones."

As their subject re-emerged from the tent with a somewhat annoyed look on his face, Lucina immediately added, "don't tell him, but I'll be happy to join you. I just want to make him suffer a bit."

"I thought seeing a sibling suffer makes you suffer," the lone child of Lissa and Libra asked.

She grinned at him. "This isn't _serious_ suffering. It's fine."

"What are you grinning about?"

She turned to Morgan and barely skipped a beat, unfazed at the idea of having been caught talking about her brother. "The fact that you should get to your lunch before Stahl gets so hungry he talks Olivia out of keeping it for you."

With a headstart, the two boys nodded and began to make their way to where they knew Olivia worked in the day time. As Owain looked behind him at his cousin, he found Lucina staring up at the sky, her head filled with thoughts that he probably would never come up with.

Maybe she needed some distracting too.


	2. The Justice Cabal Induction Day

**The Justice Cabal Induction Day  
** by purdledooturt

* * *

 _This story was originally posted for fanfic Friday over at my blog. A follow-up oneshot to 'The Justice Cabal Recruitment Drive'._

* * *

It was a sunny, breezy day, and the campsite looked as lively as the environment around it. It was picturesque, and one could not be blamed for forgetting there was even a war. Under the shade of a sizeable tree, Owain and the rest of the Justice Cabal members prepared for the big event, slicing apples into little cubes and re-reading the contracts they had written up. Morgan had gotten his mother to help with the contracts, and he and Cynthia saved a few apples throughout the week to have something to serve for their little party. He carefully sliced them how Robin would, dishing out instructions on how to perfectly do it towards Cynthia as their leader preared in his own rite. In his head, Owain ran through the little spiel he had written, which he planned on presenting to the new recruits.

He looked upwards, into the blue sky. It was slightly cloudy, but the clouds were light and stretched thinly across the sky. He felt something stir in him – he loved observing nature. There were so many things the people of this time took for granted, it almost blew his mind that such scenes were not appreciated on a daily basis. In _his_ past there was hardly ever sunshine – and when the sun does decide to peek through it never saw green. Only brown – death.

But today was a cheerful day, and Owain didn't want his mood to be dampened by the future from which he came. For a moment he was worried that the new recruits had turned tail, but his worry was eased when Lucina came to rest in front of him, on the soft grass under the tree, ready for the presentation. He smiled at his cousin, grateful that she had come, and she nodded back at him in acknowledgement.

There were hushed whispers in the back, as Morgan and Cynthia stopped with wide eyes to take in the presence of a recruit. They returned to their tasks with greater vigour, their energy flowing into Owain and charging him up further. He was ready to start – he was _excited._ But it wasn't yet time to start.

There should be one other person…

Inigo came strolling in with the usual smile on his face, walking up from behind Lucina. He had his eyes on Owain in greeting. When his eyes strayed downwards, he froze, and the smile fell and gave way to confusion.

Inigo only came because he didn't think Lucina would – but because she _did_ come, he had to join. That had been the deal. It might've been a dirty tactic because Morgan had begged Lucina to turn up and Owain knew Lucina would never deny her only brother, but it worked. And Inigo was a capable fighter who just didn't sense the good that was in him yet. He was a good addition to the Justice Cabal.

"Lucina?" he called out, as if to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Upon hearing her own name, she turned to face him and nodded towards him in acknowledgement. He began to set himself down on the grass, slowly, keeping his eyes on her. "What are you doing here?"

He probably needed to hear it for himself. So she said, "I'm here for the Justice Cabal induction."

It was time.

"Welcome, friends," he said, to the company of two that sat in front of him, both stiffly, though it came more naturally to one. Inigo looked uncomfortable to be attempting to sit upright and with as much grace as Lucina. "Welcome to the first ever Justice Cabal induction ceremony!" Cynthia and Morgan stood to his right and his left, and the three of them clapped and cheered in welcome, genuinely happy to be welcoming in new members.

"Thanks for coming," Cynthia said, "I always knew I could count on you Lucina."

The princess smiled. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Yeah, thanks for turning up!" Morgan repeated, and he looked at the campsite from behind her, scanning the area for someone. "Although I thought mother would come too."

The dancer's son looked at the group in front of him and laughed. "Am I invisible?"

"No, no," Cynthia immediately added, shaking her hands in front of Inigo, whose smile never slipped off. "Thank you for coming too, Inigo."

"You don't sound as keen for me as you were for Lucina," he joked, leaning towards her and pointing at her. "Come on – between her and me I'll make for a better recruitment agent."

Lucina let out a chuckle as he nudged her playfully with his elbow. There was no doubt about that – he looked friendlier, more approachable, and Inigo was just a smidge more charismatic than her.

Just a smidge.

"Today we will be welcoming you as honourary members to this great association with a colourful history! Future history!" His delivery was smooth – he had practiced by the river plenty of times. They had agreed to rename the position as an 'honourary membership', as opposed to 'back-up', after they had offended Severa. They hoped the two would agree. "The Justice Cabal is a group that endeavors to serve justice!"

Morgan set himself down next to his older sister with his bowl of sliced apples and offered her some. She grabbed two pieces and popped it in her mouth, chewing pensively. "During such a dark time, we want to make people feel safe and secure in the knowledge that they are being protected by the dedicated members of the Justice Cabal!"

Morgan nodded along, passionate. Cynthia stood behind Owain to hold her pose.

"We want to bring a brighter future!" she declared, and Lucina stiffened. That was their goal in travelling to the past. She had been under the impression that the Justice Cabal was a play-fight society. "We _will_ bring a brighter future, and we will need _you_ to help us!"

"As Justice Cabal members, we will be looking out for each other on the battlefield and helping each other out, in _and_ out of the battlefield. So that means chores."

"We will build strength through teamwork!" declared Cynthia, pointing her spear upwards. "And through strength we will usher in a brighter future!"

"Sounds good," said a new voice, cheerfully, scaring the children. They turned to look behind them to find Henry. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Gaius followed along behind him, sitting down behind Morgan and reaching over to swipe at some apples. "They'll do, thanks, kiddo," he said, as he popped them in his mouth. "Sorry," he said to Owain, "I didn't think you'd noticed me, but I guess I shouldn't have gone with Henry."

He looked confused. He only expected Lucina and Inigo – and with the two of them coming he already had a better turn out that ever. "Welcome!"

"Thanks!" Gaius replied. "This sounds like fun."

"Oh, you guys started already?" Lissa asked, coming in with a plate of food. "We brought snacks." Behind her, Robin followed with a plate of her own, carefully keeping the dish balanced so as not to spill. "Sorry, sorry!" she said, handing the dish over to Owain and pulling Robin with her after she had given her plate to Cynthia. "Hello, Owain."

"Mother?" Now he was utterly confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Would I miss out on the first induction?" she asked with pride. "Especially with the Chosen One here to present it to me."

"Thanks for inviting us," Robin said, as her son inched towards her and leaned against her side. She wrapped an arm around him. "Morgan told us to come in the middle of the day, we just lost track of time."

He had long since forgotten the speech he had practiced by the lake. In his happiness, he began to speak, animated and alive. He welcomed them, perhaps for the fifth time in that hour, and told them about their dreams in creating the Justice Cabal. What they hoped to achieve. And what the future they hoped to help create looked like. By the end of it a few more people had wandered into their induction, attracted by Owain and Cynthia's presentation and kept enraptured by the food Morgan offered.

When the words ran out they let silence linger momentarily, and worry tried to wrap around Owain. But it was quelled by Inigo, who rose to his feet. "Where's the contract?"

Morgan handed the apples over to his mother and he also rose to his feet, now struck with worry. "We didn't make enough."

"We thought we'd only get two people," said Cynthia, as she held the contract and Robin's bottle of ink in her hands. "We didn't expect such a positive response."

"We could always do a blood contract," offered Henry unflinchingly, and even Inigo stopped smiling to give the older man a terrified look. He turned his attention back to the piece of paper in front of him. He wanted to support his friends terribly, knowing how much this meant to them. And while his appearance had started out more as a joke, he now genuinely wanted to do everything in his power to help build the future Owain spoke of.

He grabbed the quill and signed the upper right corner. "There," he said, admiring his messy scrawl. "Everyone can just sign the one contract."

Lucina rose to her feet, and while Owain was the Chosen One there was no doubt in his mind that Lucina will soon become the poster child of the movement. She _was_ , after all, the person that came up with the idea of returning in time. There was no one else he would be happy to lose the position of face-of-the-group to. She reached for the quill and signed, as neatly and delicately as she could manage, close to Inigo's signature.

Soon a line had formed, and the draft paper began filling up with more signatures. Excited, Cynthia hummed. She turned to the other two members and pointed at the crowd that had gathered. "I'm so happy," she said.

"So am I," Owain replied, throwing his arm around Morgan and giving the grinning boy a shake. "So am I."


End file.
